Robert Griffin III claims NFL teams hate Browns for handing Deshaun Watson $230 million contract
The tale of Deshaun Watson and his $230 million contract certainly won over Cleveland Browns fans, but it has had ramifications around the rest of the league, according to former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Griffin took to Twitter to voice his frustrations at the Browns for handing Watson a fully-guaranteed five-year contract worth $230 million, toppling the dominoes in a crucial season for quarterbacks' contracts.
Russell Wilson’s deal means NOTHING to Lamar Jackson but EVERYTHING to the Ravens and the rest of the league. Teams don’t want fully guaranteed deals and hate the Browns’ Deshaun Watson contract. Lamar HAS EARNED THE RIGHT to ask for a fully guaranteed deal and I hope he gets it.
Griffin claimed the Browns' move to hand Watson a mammoth contract extension of that ilk has damaged the market for other teams looking to negotiate contract extensions with their quarterbacks.
Griffin tweeted:
"Russell Wilson's deal means NOTHING to Lamar Jackson but EVERYTHING to the Ravens and the rest of the league... Teams don't want fully guaranteed deals and hate the Browns' Deshaun Watson contract. Lamar has EARNED THE RIGHT to ask for a fully guaranteed deal and I hope he gets it."
The @Broncos have finally struck a deal that sees @DangeRussWilson resetting the QB market 💰
#NFL #BroncosCountry #LetsRide https://t.co/na63Ic3uBO
Also Checkout:- DeShaun Watson
What Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson's contracts mean for Lamar Jackson
Deshaun Watson isn't the only quarterback getting paid heftily this summer. Earlier this week, the Denver Broncos handed superstar quarterback Russell Wilson a massive five-year contract extension worth a reported $245 million with $165 million in guaranteed money.
The deal means Wilson now has the third-most-lucrative contract in NFL history, behind Patrick Mahomes' $450 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen's $258 million contract with the Buffalo Bills.
When it comes to average annual value, though, at $49 million, Wilson's contract is second only to Aaron Rodgers' $50.3 million.
And finally, if we're talking guaranteed money, Wilson's $165 million is third behind Watson's $230 million and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray's $189.5 million.
So, to sum up, every top quarterback in the league is getting paid... except Lamar Jackson. The Baltimore Ravens are still playing hardball with a contract extension for the 2019 unanimous MVP.
Wilson and Watson's contracts don't quite help Jackson's case, either. The Ravens could use Wilson's deal as evidence that Watson's contract extension was a thorough outlier, and no other team is touching that stratospheric number in guarantees.
Jackson, however, could contest that Wilson is 33 years old, and his contract is expected to tie him down until he is 38. Jackson himself is eight years younger than the Broncos star.
And while last season wasn't quite Jackson's best in the league, the Ravens were still 7-5 with the 2019 MVP under center, as opposed to 1-4 without him. Jackson has also won nine more games than Deshaun Watson, each having played four seasons in the NFL. All of this is to say that come Week 1, if a contract isn't on the table, things could get very uncomfortable for the Ravens.